Steelers schedule update: Some late Sunday games to start later
June 29, 2012 12:22 am
Post-Gazette

By Dan Gigler / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Five Steelers games this season will start 10 minutes later after a decision by the NFL Thursday to move the kickoff time for the late afternoon Sunday doubleheader games from 4:15 p.m. to 4:25 p.m.

One home Steelers game and four road games will change.

The Steelers' home opener Sept. 16 against the New York Jets will now start at 4:25 p.m., as will the following road games: Sept. 23 at Oakland, Nov. 4 at the New York Giants, Dec. 2 at Baltimore and Dec. 16 at Dallas.

According to an NFL release, the later kickoff time will reduce the likelihood of fans missing the finish of a 1 p.m. telecast because TV contract rules require the networks to broadcast the opening kickoff of every home-market team's late-afternoon games.

For instance: if Baltimore is playing a 1 p.m. game with playoff implications for the Steelers, who play at 4:25 p.m., interested fans would be more likely to see the end of that Ravens game before the broadcast switches to the later Steelers game.

Addressing the matter, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello tweeted that the "Small shift in [kickoff] time on [limited number] of games will result in significant benefit for many NFL TV viewers."

The decision came about after an analysis of games from the 2009-11 seasons.

The NFL found that 44 games required part of the audience to be switched to a mandatory doubleheader kickoff.

With a 4:25 p.m. kickoff time, that number would have been reduced to 15.

The league estimates that approximately 40 games will be impacted by the shift in starting times.

The 4:05 p.m. kickoff time for games not on the doubleheader network will remain unchanged.

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NOTES -- The Steelers added linebacker Ryan Baker to the active roster and cut former Pitt linebacker and Aliquippa native Brandon Lindsey. Baker, an undrafted rookie free agent from LSU, signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in April but he was released. Lindsey signed with the Steelers as an undrafted rookie free agent in April.

The NFL announced today that they are shifting the times of the second game of doubleheaders (on CBS and Fox) from 4:15 pm to 4:25 pm. This change came after extensive studies between the 2009-2011 seasons of when stations have mandatory switchovers to the second game while the first game is still finishing up. That happened 44 times during that time period. The studies concluded that if the second game started at 4:25 pm, then only 15 games would have had interrupted broadcast on television.

I for one am hot on this topic. Being a fan of the Steelers and the NFL in general, networks appear to toy with your emotions on Sundays marketed as doubleheaders – especially when the Steelers are involved. And although usually I find the problem to actually be that the network doesn’t switch over fast enough (usually when Green Bay is playing on Fox and the Steelers follow them), I still think is a helpful change for must of us stuck on our duffs in our living rooms or on bar stools. Now if the NFL can find a way for a mandatory cut to cute kittens whenever Shannon Sharpe opens up his mouth over on CBS…